The Sound Of Music
by Insomnia On High
Summary: When Sasuke takes in a beaten kid off the streets, he gets a lot more than he bargained for. But at least there's never a dull moment, right? SasuNaru.
1. Prelude

Minna-san!! ::pumps fist in air::

Ok, so I actually put some planning into this one, so it won't be a flop!! XD But as per the title, it has a lot to do with music creating the atmosphere. While I do dislike songfics, a couple times you'll run into a song that would REALLY be beneficial for your...ehm...experience. Sure. :D

Enjoy!

**-**

**.Prelude.** _(Comptine D'Un Autre: L'Apres Midi)_

* * *

I _wish_ I couldn't remember life before him.

But I can, and they aren't good memories. Actually, it's more like one big memory, a bunch of days melded together with no knowledge of time. I didn't know how old I was, let alone the month or day.

It was always the buzz of fluorescent lights that occupied my brain. Everything there was so…clean and white. Too clean. Too white. My white garment was so out of place on my grimy body. I only understood later why I was only allowed to bathe once a month, to conserve water.

After all, why waste it on undesirables like me?

I gave up hope of being adopted soon after I arrived. Girls got adopted more often than boys, I had guessed. Plus, I was weird, with yellow hair and blue eyes. The people that walked by gave me funny looks. And I was getting old, not cute enough to advertise. I had this griping feeling that they were going to confiscate me somehow, that I would be tossed somewhere to rot and die like the nothing I was.

But I was sure wherever I was taken after death would be better than this.

I wondered about my past several times, about my parents. I could never remember. Nothing. The days melded into one constant, bleached existence.

And then it happened.

There was no warning. They just unlocked my cell, and I jolted awake at the clanking it made. They grabbed my upper arms, rendering me helpless, and dragged me out of the cell, my home.

Pitiful eyes watched me as I was dragged down the hallway, still in a sleepy daze. I remember trying to rub my eyes, but every time I would try to move, their grip tightened.

Once they took me out a wrong door, my stomach began to lurch. What was happening to me?? Where were they taking me?? I was starting to get dizzy with fear.

I must've seemed like a rabid animal, thrashing about violently, kicking, and shrieking visceral, terrible, inhuman cries.

Suddenly I was being thrown forcefully from the iron grasp. All I knew was pain. Pain, pain, pain. There was warmth trickling down my face and neck, I was so dizzy, and my vision was quickly blurring into black.

The last thing I heard was a voice, urgent and panicked, yet deep and musical.

Then black.

-o-o-o-

I woke up to warm sheets, and the sound of something new and lovely drifting through the air.

From that point on, my life would be filled with the sound of music.

* * *

It's a prologue, of course it's short.

I want to get a fair bit of this cranked out by the holidays, so updates will be kind of rapid fire for a bit. ;D

Please review, I haven't been active in a while, and feedback is awesome!!


	2. Etude

Tag, minna!

I know my last chapter was a prologue, and boring and stuff...but I wanted reviews!! ::fret fret:: ::bangs fists::

Okay. (/temper tantrum) XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or Chobits. Cause I got some ideas from Chobits, kinda. Just throwin' that out there. :3

Enjoy!

-

**.Etude. **_(Pas Si Simple)_

* * *

The kid had been sleeping for days. I had managed to feed him bits of soup, and most of his bruises were yellowed and his scrapes healed. But with the amount of time he had been out, I debated taking him to the hospital anyway. Although, it looked like the swelling from the concussion had subsided.

All I could think of was taking a nap as soon as I got home. It had been a long, long day, and I was too ready for the weekend.

It all happened so, so quickly.

A door banged open from across the street. I could hear rushed, urgent voices, and terrible, escalating cries of distress. Bestial, they made me shiver, and I couldn't help but looking.

Two uniformed men were dragging a thrashing figure out of a side door into a trashed alley. The few that were out at that hour turned their heads and sped their pace to be on their way. Enraged, I ran out on the crosswalk, shoving the disregarding bystanders out of the way.

I briefly saw that it was a child that was uttering those horrifying sounds, with bright blond hair by the looks of it, but it was only a blur, and before I knew it—

_THWUMP._

The boy was hurled to slam against the brick across the way.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

_Shit--!_

I don't know if I screamed it, or if I was too shocked to say anything, but I bolted to the now slumped figure.

His eyelids were drifting fast, his eyes beginning to roll up into his head, blood trickling down his forehead. I vaguely remembered a stream of reassurances and curses alike tumbling from my mouth. The men had disappeared back into the building, and the more prevalent of my worries was the boy.

My adrenaline was rushing in my ears. _An Orphanage,_ my speeding brain supplied. A hospital was out of the question. The best course of action was to get him the best private, personal medical attention available.

_Tsunade._ My brain supplied again, already mapping out where she would be then.

From there, it was impulse and blur until I trudged home with the boy and went to sleep.

All my brain chose to remember were the medical directions I had received, and the name Tsunade had pulled from the chip she had removed from his skin.

Naruto.

-O-O-O-

The boy woke up gradually, slowly. His eyelids opened blearily, lazily taking in his surroundings, then widening. He sat up abruptly, suddenly alert and somewhat scared at the newness.

He began to feel slightly dizzy, clutching his head, and recoiling at the tenderness there. Feeling around gingerly, there was a broad spot on the back of his head that was slightly swollen and sensitive. For that matter, the other hand clutching the edge of the sheet had some bandages on it. His shapeless garment had been replaced with short-sleeved, button-up pajamas that were fairly big on him.

The very air seemed calm, relaxed.

But the strangest thing about this new environment was that strange and wonderful sound floating on the air.

Still slightly disoriented, the boy fumbled with the sheets to slip out of the spacious bed. It took him a while to get his bearings, but he managed to open the door and exit the room fairly steadily.

Looking down both ends of the dimmed hallway, he stumbled off in search for the source of the sound. Down there, over…this way? No, that way. It should be…

The man looked over his shoulder from the sizzling pan to his company. "Ah," he reached over to press a button on a strange-looking thing, and the sound ceased. "You're up. I was beginning to worry; you were out for a while. Are you sure you're feeling well enough to be up and about?"

"Haaa—" the boy's voice was cracked and rusty from disuse, and he had clear troubles speaking. The man winced, and bent down to look up at his new charge, who backed away warily, eyes panicked and wide.

"Aaahh…" he hoarsed, eyes darting. He pulled a hand up to grip at his throat, panicking.

The man took slow steps toward him, and the boy's wide blue eyes darted back to him. He pressed himself further against the wall.

"Shhh. It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you." The man soothed, taking slow steps toward the boy, who tensed further against his dead end. Slowly, the man extended one arm to stroke the back of the boy's head, still tense.

"There's still definitely some swelling there, and it'll be tender for a while," he murmured softly. "Just take it easy. You took a rough blow there."

He could see the tenseness ease slowly from the boy's skinny frame.

"See?" he gave a curve of the lip that, on good days, _might _be considered as a smile. "Now, say 'aaaahh'." He made the pronunciation exaggerated, mouth wide.

"Aaah," the boy pronounced, crackled and soft.

"Good. Now, 'saaaah'."

"Ssssaaaah," the boy managed.

"Saaaskeee." A hint of a smile was forming on the man's lips.

"Sssaaassskeee," the boy imitated, not quite understanding the concept.

"'Sasuke'," the man said, gesturing to himself.

"Sah…ske," the blond struggled, face set in a concentrating glower. He had a pleasant voice, past the dust of disuse.

The man laughed softly, and the boy recoiled slightly. He gently pointed at the blond. "Naruto." He stated.

The boy stared cross-eyed at the finger for a little, then managed a, "Naa…to."

"Na-ru-to."

"Nah-roo-toh. Naruto," comprehension dawned on his face. "Naruto!!" he beamed at the man, who laughed his soft laugh again and stood up, causing Naruto to blush.

"Sasuke…" he said.

"Yeah, that's my name." He gave a slight smile. "I bet you're hungry." Walking over to the semi-forgotten pan, he called over his shoulder, "Want some breakfast?"

"Brek…fast," Naruto tried, looking after Sasuke with a furrowed brow, but as soon as the man turned around with a skillet full of sausage and eggs, he took on a look of awe at the beautiful sight.

"Sit down," the man ordered gently, gesturing to a chair. Naruto hurried over and sat on one, watching the steaming goodness being shoveled onto his plate with hungry eyes.

Disregarding the cutlery placed next to the plate, he began to eat everything he was given with huge fervor.

"I wonder how old you are," Sasuke mused over his breakfast, only vaguely watching the disturbing speed at which the boy ate. "Tsunade said the Orphanage records read twelve—oh, did you want some more? Right then, here you go, take mine, I'm not all that hungry…" He trailed off, sighing and folding his hands under his chin, shaking his head slightly. "What a terrible place."

A loud _clank _woke him from his stupor of gazing at the wood pattern on the table. Naruto was done with his plate, and was staring at him intently, as if to say, '_Now what?'_

"Now," Sasuke got up, answering the unspoken question, "you'll take a nice bath, you're awful smelly."

Naruto gave him a look. He gave one back.

"Well, you are." Dishes placed in the sink for later, he pulled Naruto's chair from out of the table and motioned for him to follow. "C'mon, this way."

Naruto warily followed him to the bathroom. It was plenty spacious, but still fairly conservative. He watched as Sasuke turned on the water, and jumped slightly at the loud noise it made as it hit the tub.

Once he had deemed the temperature good enough, Sasuke beckoned for Naruto to imitate him and put his hand under the tap. Timidly, Naruto did so, recoiling slightly as the flow hit him, but going back.

"Is it good? Is that alright?" Sasuke asked him.

He nodded slowly.

"Right. The towels are here—" he grabbed some out of a mirrored cabinet and set them on the toilet seat, "there you go, and you just turn that off when it's almost full." He then reached back into the cabinet for some bottles.

"Here's the shampoo and soap. I trust you can wash yourself, yes?" he questioned the boy, who nodded vigorously.

"Alright then, Naruto, when you're done, just wrap a towel around yourself and come into the guest bedroom down the hall," he gestured vaguely in the direction. "I'll be changing sheets, and we'll get you dressed, alright?"

Slightly overwhelmed by all of these directions, but afraid to show it, again the blond nodded emphatically.

Sasuke stepped out, shutting the door firmly. He collapsed lightly against the wall just outside of the bathroom door, fingers combing through his hair. _I can't believe this happened…_he mused to himself. _I guess I have a kid now…damn me and my humanity._

He turned his head toward the door, eyebrows furrowing. _Does he even know how take a bath??_ He opened his mouth, wanting to ask if the boy needed help, then closed it again. _He should be fine…_Sasuke thought to himself, shaking his head, losing himself in thought.

Sudden retching noises assured the man otherwise. He flew back into the room, the door banging on its hinges. The blond was doubled over on the floor, shaking violently and vomiting onto the bathroom rug, while the bathwater was running over the tub's edges.

"Shit!!" Sasuke cursed, bolting to turn off the water, then quickly trying to coax the boy over the toilet to finish purging his stomach.

Looking back at the mess on the rug and wincing, he rubbed the bare back in soothing circles. The boy was shaking violently and jerking forward in convulsing dry retches, white knuckles clenching around the toilet bowl.

Sasuke could feel the soft, powdery skin gliding over each rib and vertebrae, and quivering shoulderblades, and was reminded the full gravity of the situation. Naruto was grossly underweight and fragile, and his shrunken stomach couldn't have handled all of the food he had eaten. He could easily be sick to boot; his immune system couldn't be in great shape, either.

He shushed the boy soothingly, knees beginning to hurt from kneeling on the ground for so long. He got up and dampened a washcloth, coaxing a shaking Naruto, clad only in his boxers, up from the cold tile to stand and let his face be wiped off. Business-like, he flushed the toilet and carried Naruto to the bedroom, the boy shaking in his arms.

He laid the boy gently on the bed, fumbling to get a basin from the closet and sheets over the boy.

"I'm going to go clean up, alright?" he said quietly, looking Naruto in the eye. Perhaps he had been too hasty in his assumptions. He was starting from scratch here, and the boy's health was first on the list. "You just sit tight, and if you feel sick again—" he pulled the basin into Naruto's lap, "you use this, okay?" Naruto nodded, shaking like a leaf, but steady.

Sasuke gave a sad smile and stood back up. "Afterwards, I'll take your temperature, give you something easy to digest…the bath can wait until tomorrow. Call me if you need anything." He turned to leave, but a timid voice stopped him.

"Sasuke…" Naruto called hoarsely. He turned back to look at the boy, whose eyes were beginning to water with tears. Sasuke's expression faltered, then a sad smile took his face again. "You're a good kid," he said, ruffling the blond head of hair, whose owner's teary eyes squinched cutely at the rough motion.

A scowl overtook Sasuke's features as he mopped up the excess water on the tile floor. He had since unplugged the bathtub and taken care of most of the rug stain, but his thoughts were focused on the monstrosity of the so-called orphanages.

"What kind of a place would do such a thing to a child?!?"he seethed into the phone. "He can't remember how to bathe himself, let alone speak!!!"

There was a loud wet _splish_ as he planted the mop firmly on the floor. "I can't believe this!!"

"_You know there's nothing you can do about it,"_ the man over the phone replied. Sasuke paused, sighing and sitting on the edge of the tub, and looking very much defeated.

"…I know. But it makes me so angry that the government allows stuff like this to happen. They've ruined his _life_, Kakashi."

"_You learn something new about those disgusting toads every day. But they haven't ruined his life. He's with you now."_

"Yeah, but…"

"_But…?"_

"I don't know. It's just terrible. It's a prison for kids who haven't done anything wrong, and it just adds to their misery. Kids have probably died there!!" he said exasperatingly.

"…_Lucky I found you when I did, or you would've been in the same situation."_

"…" Sasuke suddenly found the caulking under the toilet fascinating.

"_I'm pretty sure that's why you took him in, Sasuke. Maybe…you saw a little bit of yourself in him?"_

The beginnings of anger flashed in Sasuke's eyes, and Kakashi sensed it, even over the phone.

"_You need to go through with this, Sasuke." _He said firmly. _"It's your responsibility now to take good care of him."_

Sasuke exhaled deeply and rubbed his forehead.

"_It'll pay off in time. This is a change for the better, for both of you. You'll see."_

_Click._ Sasuke was left with the hollow sound of a dial tone. He stared at the phone for a while, then clicked the 'end' button slowly.

_A hysterically sobbing Sasuke buried his face in a warm, comforting shoulder._

"_Shhhh. Everything's going to be alright." Hatake Kakashi gazed sadly at the sheet-covered forms being hoisted into the vehicle. Many more bloodstained forms of white lay patiently waiting on the ground to be loaded in._

_This never happened. Nothing. None of these people ever existed._

"_I can't believe the little bastard behaves for you. He was on a rampage just a while ago, left one agent with a pretty nasty bite mark," said a man in a black suit and sunglasses, witnessing the same scene with cold eyes. Kakashi glared at him dangerously, turning to leave._

_The warmth of the face and tears on his shoulder contrasted from the brisk autumn wind, and the boy was trembling like a leaf._

"_Damn you," Kakashi cursed under his breath._

_None of this ever happened._

"…Sasuke?" came a soft voice from the doorway. He jolted from his stupor.

"Oh, right." Naruto was standing with the sheet over his head and gathered in his hands, trailing behind him on the carpet. Sasuke stood up, and walked past the boy into the hallway. "C'mon, I'll take your temp in the kitchen, and then you can have some soup and crackers."

"Thirty-seven degrees. Not sick, I'd say, but soup and crackers would still be best at first." He rummaged in the cabinet for a can of soup and a half-opened package of saltines. "Sorry I can't cook," he apologized, dumping the can in a bowl and starting up the microwave, which Naruto flinched at.

"Let's at least get a robe on you. I don't want you _getting_ sick, and since you're…" Naruto blinked at him, and Sasuke noticed the sunkenness of his cheeks, a blatant reminder of his malnourishment.

"You just sit tight." He went to his room to look for an old yukata he had. Suddenly, he heard the obnoxious beeping of the microwave and a scrambling noise. He grabbed the yukata and rushed back into the kitchen, where a wide-eyed Naruto stood pressed against the wall.

"Sorry about that. It beeps when it's done." Sasuke tugged the sheet off of the boy, wincing at the prominence of his ribs, and quickly pulled the sleeves over the stickly arms, folding and tying it on.

Naruto gazed down curiously at his new garment as Sasuke got the soup from out of the microwave.

"It's an old one of mine, but I guess it's still a bit too big for you," he observed, bumping the refrigerator door closed with his hip after he had grabbed a bottle of water. "Here you go, eat slowly." He placed the bowl and water bottle down on the table and collected the sheet from the floor.

Naruto didn't move.

"Go on, here's your chair," he pulled the chair out from under the table and gestured to it. Naruto paused, then scrambled to get to the soup. "Remember, eat slowly. I'll be right back."

Sasuke tossed the sheet on top of the mountain of clothes already stacked on the washing machine. Looking up at the pile, he scratched the back of his head.

"Eh, I'll do it later," he dismissed, and made his way back to the kitchen.

He pulled out the kitchen chair across from Naruto and rested his chin in his hands. "'Sit good?" he asked, slightly tired.

Naruto simply stared at him, open-mouthed, a bit of broth dripping down his chin and fist clenching the spoon halfway. Sasuke shook his head. Walking behind the boy, who watched him as he got up, he lightly took his spoon hand and dumped the contents back in the bowl.

Showing him the proper way, he repositioned Naruto's hand on the spoon. "Like that," he said. "Now try."

Naruto took a slow, demonstrative spoonful, staring at Sasuke throughout. He nodded slowly; eyebrows raised, and crossed the kitchen.

_Well, at least this isn't awkward, _Sasuke thought to himself. _I'm going to need to clean this place up…And I'll need to buy him clothes…_His thoughts trailed off.

A loud _clank _turned his attention back to his charge, who was sitting anticipatingly, staring at him with those wide blue eyes. Sasuke eyed the boy momentarily right back, then picked up the bowl and spoon to take over to the sink, which he decided against washing at the moment.

"Sasuke." Naruto called solemnly, tugging at the yukata.

"What? Does it not fit?? Is it smelly?"

Naruto shook his head, and tugged on the material harder.

"…Do you just not want to wear it?" Sasuke asked warily, eyebrows raised.

Naruto gave a little scowl, and wiggled the bit in his hand violently,

"What!? I don't understand what's wrong with the damn yukata!!! It fits you fine!!!" Sasuke exclaimed, frustrated.

"Damyukata," Naruto repeated, looking down at the light blue garment, fingering the material.

"No," Sasuke said hastily. "Its just yukata. Yu-ka-ta."

"Yukata." Naruto nodded and smiled a bit, trying to look behind him to see it from all angles.

"You like it then?" Sasuke asked, mildly amused, and surprised that the boy had learned so fast.

Naruto nodded sharply, smile brightening, but only slightly. "Like," he declared.

"…That's…great, then. That's…" Sasuke gave an incredulous smile and swallowed. "…Glad you like it."

"Like," Naruto affirmed seriously, and continued to try and look at his backside.

Sasuke merely watched on, smiling amusedly.

* * *

...Omnomnom. :3

Like I said, these are gonna be poppin' out pretty fast up till Christmas, so review while it lasts!! :D

Omg, two of my good friends (albeit slightly stupid ones) got caught smoking on school property. The legal one got expelled, and the 15-year-old got 5 days OSS. Now tell me that isn't fucked up, especially when all these jocks smoke pot on a damn near daily basis and don't get anything for it. ::exasperation::

Anyway, please review!! :3


	3. Sonata

Hey minna!

Ooooh. I had a juicy idea for a oneshot today, it was grrreat. :3 Maybe soon.

(Insert usual disclaimer for Naruto and Chobits here.)

-

**.Sonata. **_(Magic Carpet Ride)_

* * *

Sasuke woke up slowly, blinking his eyes blearily into his pillow.

"'Ss goin' on?" he asked no one in particular, turning his head to rest it on the other side.

He could hear rummaging coming from the bedroom, and raised his head off the pillow as though twenty pounds of dead weight were attached. _Naruto._

Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of the cozy futon and made his way, yawning, down the hall. He leaned on the doorframe lazily to find the kid, still in those too-big pajamas, going through his closet, the drawers already open and ransacked. One eyebrow raised, and a blond head whipped around, balking.

Naruto blushed slightly, eyes widening.

"S'ok," Sasuke grunted, bending down to toss some shirts in a drawer. Naruto slowly handed the hanger he had in his hands to Sasuke and stood watching him clean up rather carelessly. Soon, he got the gist of putting things on hangers and hanging them back up, and began to help.

When they had finished, much to Sasuke's amusement, Naruto approached Sasuke warily. "Ah…" he began, embarrassed that he couldn't communicate what he was thinking, didn't know the words to say.

"Don't even bother. It's not that big of a deal," Sasuke waved him off. Naruto continued to stare at him.

"You probably mean to say 'I'm sorry,' but it's alright. You were just curious, whatever." Sasuke began to walk to the kitchen sluggishly, mumbling to himself; "…too early in the morning for this…"

"'m sorry…" Naruto mumbled to himself, half practicing. Then he quickly ran after Sasuke toward the kitchen.

-O-O-O-

"God, for August, it's freezing!!" Sasuke managed through gritted teeth, contracting his shoulders inside his sweatshirt. "Since when has it been so unreasonably cold?" He grabbed the remote off of a cluttered end table to switch on the weather.

"Damn global cooling," he muttered after a little bit of staring at the weather map.

"You want some cocoa?" he asked Naruto, who tilted his head. "Cocoa," he stated, shuffling over to fish an instant packet out of a lower cabinet, "you'll like it, it's warm and yummy," he said with a ridiculously straight face. _I haven't said the word 'yummy' since I was about nine, _he thought with slight distaste.

"Co—" Naruto flinched at the microwave starting again, "—coa. Cocoa."

"Yep," Sasuke said indifferently, turning to lean against the counter and yawn. Not to mention getting a good look at Naruto.

"Jeez, I bet you're freezing." Sasuke noticed casually. "You're gonna catch cold, being dressed like that, as skinny as you are. C'mon, I'll get some slippers and something to go over those pajamas."

Naruto following as a baby duck follows its mother, Sasuke managed to outfit him in some slippers and a hooded sweatshirt, both too big for him. In the end, the blond looked rather small and pitiful, but much warmer.

A loud beeping had Naruto almost jumping into the closet Sasuke was closing.

"Oh, relax," Sasuke subsided, "it's just the microwave." Nearly out the bedroom door, with Naruto still in shock inside, he beckoned with rolled eyes. "You'll have get used to it eventually, since most of the food in this house has the word 'instant' in it," he grumbled. "Now come on, the cocoa's gonna get cold."

The cocoa was delicious, but it took some reassuring that it wasn't out to get Naruto after it burned the eager boy's tongue at first taste. Sasuke, indulging in his own, managed to enjoy his with all his taste buds intact, thank you very much.

Naruto touched his tongue tentatively.

"Yeah, it's gonna tingle and feel weird for a while," Sasuke said knowingly, stirring his cup slowly.

Naruto continued to poke at his tongue and stare at the drink suspiciously.

"It'll be cold by the time you muster up the courage to drink it, y'know."

Staring at Sasuke with large, glassy eyes, Naruto took a slow, tiny sip. Sasuke watched as he thought about the taste for a bit, then went for another sip.

"What an eccentric kid," Sasuke mumbled. "Never seen one quite like you."

Naruto paid no attention for the delicious tasting drink in his hands. Sasuke snorted softly.

"Well, look where you came from. Che. Still, I can't help but wonder about you…" He looked over his charge carefully, and noticed, perhaps for the first time, strange little marks that could pass for whiskers, three on each cheek. _That's weird. I wonder if they're some freaky birthmark or scar or something…Maybe I'll ask him about it eventually…_

Naruto, finished with his cocoa, looked curiously up at the man.

"Here, I'll trade you." Sasuke slid his mostly-full mug to the blonde, took the empty one to place in the sink, and leaned against the counter once more, staring at how vivaciously the blond drank his cocoa. He sighed.

"Shit, I have work tomorrow. Not going to be quite comfortable leaving you here by yourself."

"Work??" Naruto tilted his head.

"Work, yeah. I go to work almost every day to make money," he explained.

"Money?" Naruto took the spoon out of the mug in front of him to suck on it.

"Money…" Sasuke thought. _How are you supposed to explain the concept of money to someone like Naruto?_

"…Money makes everything possible," he decided.

"Everything?"

"Well, almost. Let's be within the laws of physics, shall we?" Sasuke explained exasperatingly.

"Phy…sics?"

Sasuke's shoulders fell and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, no more words. It's bathtime, O Smelly One."

Naruto, suspicious of the choice of words, glowered at Sasuke, but followed him to the bathroom nonetheless.

-O-O-O-

Sasuke shifted his weight from knee to knee. Ow.

Sleeves rolled up, he was testing the loud, running bathwater's temperature. This time, he was administering the bath himself. There wasn't going to be a repeat of the day before. He pulled the drain shut at a good temperature.

"Sasuke," Naruto called over the water.

"Yeah?" Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see him tugging at the white towel he had laid on the toilet seat, "That's a towel. It comes later."

"Towel."

"Yeah. Now come on, you need to undress." He gestured at Naruto, who just looked at him.

"Undress." Sasuke sighed and went to gently take the sweatshirt off, but Naruto backed away.

Sasuke sighed and went to turn off the water, irritated, and then faced the wall. "Fine, go ahead. Get in the tub." He waited for the rustling and a few quiet splishes of water to pass, then kneeled back at the edge of the tub, shampoo in hand.

"Turn around," he gestured in a circular motion, and Naruto scooted so his back was to him.

Not knowing how Naruto would react to being washed, Sasuke gently started a lather on the dingy, dirt-filled hair.

'_This's been lying in my bed?' _he thought with some disgust.

But he noticed Naruto was visibly relaxing on account of the light massage and the wonderful smell of the shampoo. His head hung near limp, and with each rub, his entire frame moved. Sasuke was sure not to get any in his eyes.

"Right now. Shut your eyes," here he squinted his, "and dunk your head underwater. Get the shampoo out of your hair." He got up, rubbing his knees, and crossed the bathroom to get the gel and a washcloth. He came back to Naruto dripping like a wet sheepdog, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Turn around again. I need to get your back first." He started to foam up the washcloth,

'_I wonder why he reacted the way he did when I tried to take off the sweatshirt…God…he wasn't…abused, was he?? Damn. I wouldn't put it past them. But,' _he started to wash the boy's back, staring at the knobs of his vertebrae and ribs shown through the skin, _'past the malnourishment, he could almost be fourteen or fifteen. There's so much I should know about this kid, but I don't._

"Here." Sasuke handed the washcloth to Naruto, who looked at him quizzically. "You'd probably be more comfortable washing yourself than me doing it for you. Just," he shifted to demonstrate on Naruto's arm, "rub it nice and good on your skin to get the dirt off, alright?" Naruto took the washcloth and began to scrub.

Sasuke got up wearily. This was taking a real toll on his knees. "Good. Hopefully you'll be able to wash yourself soon, because I can't do this every couple of days."

By the time he had picked up the clothes and folded them on the counter, Naruto was finished.

He tossed a towel to the boy. "Towel," Naruto recognized.

"Yeah, towel. Get on out and dry yourself with that. I'm gonna unplug the drain."

He heard water even after the tub was drained. Naruto had the towel simply draped over his shoulders, dripping all over the floor, and Sasuke sighed, taking the towel from the boy.

"Gimme that—" He ruffled the towel brusquely on the boy's hair, over his shoulders, and down his body, wrapping it around his waist when he was done. Naruto looked rather shaken.

"That's how you dry off." He ruffled Naruto's now fluffy hair, that looked a purer shade of blonde now that it was cleaned, and started toward the bedroom.

Naruto, blushing slightly, stumbled to follow.

-O-O-O-

"Man, you look so pitiful." Sasuke rubbed his head.

Naruto tugged at the T-shirt that was currently eating him alive and the rolled-up pajama pants.

"T-Shirt. Pants." Sasuke was used to this game already, turning to stuff the pile of tried-and-failed clothes back in the drawers.

"T-Shirt, pants." Naruto repeated, pointing to the two in reverse order.

"No, no. T-shirt," Sasuke tugged on a sleeve, "pants."

"T-shirt, pants." Sasuke marveled at how Naruto even mimicked the same patterns of speech and tone of voice he used.

But his eye lingered on the collarbone exposed by the baggy T-shirts collar. Naruto leaned closer, curious as to why Sasuke was staring at him. "Sasuke?"

_Shit,_ he turned quickly back to the pile of clothes, covering his mouth. Naruto looked at him, slightly distressed at his reaction to his question. Did he do something wrong?

"We'll need to go and buy you some clothes that fit, then," he said hastily, stuffing some clothes in drawers.

"And while I'm at it…"

Naruto watched curiously as Sasuke struggled to heap a mountain of clothes onto the bed, dusting his hands afterward.

"This is all…" he blew out frustratingly, trying to form various gestures, "…dirty."

Leaving a small pile on the bed, he started toward the washing machine. "Could you get that?" he nodded to Naruto, who hastily gathered up the pile and waddled over to follow Sasuke.

"Haven't washed these in months," he muttered disgustedly. _Thud._ "What the—Naruto!!"

Seeing the blond crashed face-first into the pile of clothes he was carrying put him in panic mode. That is, until he saw the sock under Naruto's foot. Sasuke pulled a face. _'That's got to be unpleasant,'_ he thought.

"You alright?" he asked as concernedly as he could from around a pile of smelly laundry, only able to hear scuffling in response. He dropped his pile. "Let's see…" He leaned in and lightly grabbed Naruto's jaw and tilted it from side to side, Naruto looking at him with little tears welling in the corners of his eyes.

"You've got a little bruising on your chin," he observed, "but the laundry cushioned your fall a bit, so you'll be alright. A little tender, but whatever. You're tough, right?" he teased, ruffling the blond mop.

A slight blush pinked Naruto's cheeks as Sasuke turned away.

"Now c'mon," he picked up his load again, "and watch where you step."

-O-O-O-

After making it to the washing machine unscathed, and picking up the trail of socks poor Naruto had dropped, the two sat on the floor by the washing machine sorting the massive mountain of clothes into two categories: lighter-looking darks and darker-looking darks.

…Okay, maybe there were a few whites and lights in there somewhere.

Sasuke may have been a lazy bachelor being by himself, but he was a lazy bachelor with a job, and he did have to do some laundry-sorting.

"Don't worry, this'll actually be your laundry as well soon."

"Laundry," Naruto mimicked.

"Yep," Sasuke affirmed mindlessly. '_I wonder what kind of clothes Naruto will like wearing…'_

Naruto was tapping on the metal of the washing machine.

"That?? Washing machine."

"Washing m-mashing…"

"Machine."

"Machine. Washing machine??" he asked, tapping the strange white metal box next to it.

"No, that's a dryer."

"Dryer. Dryer…do?"

Sasuke was slightly incredulous at this fast comprehension. "The dryer dries the clothes off after the washing machine washes them."

"Dryer dries…washing machine washes." Naruto nodded, as to say, '_Makes sense.'_

"Yeah." Sasuke let an amused smile pass his lips, and tossed a shirt into the lighter pile. "Good job."

Naruto looked at him expectantly with his wide, blue eyes.

Sasuke rolled his onyx ones, and ruffled the boy's hair.

* * *

...Aw. How cute.

I stole a lot of concepts from Chobits here, btws. XD

THIS IS STARTING OFF SO SLOWLY, I'M SORRY. It'll pick up A LOT in the next chapter or so, bear with me.

I heart reviews!! :D


	4. Aria

Hey minna!

Ohmygod. I realized how fast I have to get these chapters out before Christmas. TT~TT Wah!!! Well, at least they're picking up a little. But I might not be able to make a solely Christmas oneshot or anything. We'll see.

If you haven't gotten cavities from this yet, you will now. God, Naruto.

(Disclaimer) :D

-

**.Aria. **_(Wouldn't It Be Nice)_

* * *

Sasuke woke to his alarm in the distance, and a loud scrambling.

"Shit," he cursed, rushing to the bedroom, where Naruto was cowering on the opposite side of the bed from the alarm clock. He decided to skip fumbling with the buttons and just ripped the plug out of the socket.

"It's alright," he called, yawning. "Just my alarm clock. You'll have to get used to that too. Now c'mon, breakfast."

Turning the weather on again, he stared at the only slightly better forecast. "At least it's in around the fifteen degree mark now," he mumbled, plodding back to the kitchen to grab the water he was boiling before the microwave went off and Naruto freaked out again.

Naruto pointed at the TV from his base at the kitchen table.

"What?" Sasuke asked crankily. "Oh right, television. TV."

"Television." Naruto repeated, obviously engrossed in the moving pictures.

'_Guess it'd make sense if he was fascinated with the TV. He probably hasn't seen one in ages,' _Sasuke thought as he poured the hot water into a mug and a cup of instant ramen. _'What a breakfast.'_ He shook some instant coffee into the mug and placed a convenient bowl on top of the ramen.

Stirring his coffee, he fished some bagels from on top of the fridge and stuffed one in his mouth.

"Orn, Narrghh!" he managed around his pastry, and upon taking it out of his mouth, "Oi, Naruto!!"

Naruto stopped poking the little people on the screen.

"Sit back, at least, if you're gonna watch TV. You could have a seizure." _'Not that anything worth watching comes on after they passed the Visual Media Abridgement Act.'_

"Besides, breakfast is ready. C'mon." Naruto scrambled into the kitchen, "Breakfast!!" cheerily on his lips.

"Sorry to disappoint you, it's ramen. I'm not really a cook. Ap ap ap—" he smacked away Naruto's eager hands. "You need to learn how to eat like a normal person first. Watch me."

He fished out two pairs of fairly clean chopsticks, and demonstrated the correct way to hold them. Naruto followed suit with only a little difficulty, and manage to tap the sticks together a couple of times.

"Good. Now—" He grabbed the cup of ramen and ripped the top off. "You just fish around for a clump of noodles—" Naruto was watching on intently, "drag them out—BLOW on them," he emphasized, remembering the burned tongue incident from earlier, "and eat them." He shuddered a bit as he swallowed. Sasuke had never been one for ramen.

"Now go siddown." He yawned again, and Naruto walked warily to the table, positioning the chopsticks with his other hand. _'Right-handed,' _Sasuke noticed.

He watched as Naruto managed to get a nice amount out. "Blow on it," he reminded the boy sharply. "Phoo," he demonstrated lazily.

"Phoo." Somewhere in the dark recesses of Sasuke's mind, he was giggling like a schoolgirl.

Naruto's chewing slowed, and he looked down at his ramen.

"Yeah, sorry it's shit…ty…?"

Naruto had started to devour the ramen with all the grace of a hippopotamus.

Sasuke's coffee nearly fell from his hand. The chopsticks hit the table.

'…_Didn't know a human could eat that damn fast.'_

Naruto fervently slammed the cup on the table. Sasuke could practically read his mind. _'What the hell was that?!'_

"…Ramen." Sasuke managed.

"Ramen. RamenRamenRamen. RamenRamen." Naruto sucked on the chopsticks, turning the cup over in his hand.

"Glad you like it." Sasuke rubbed his temples and took a long, long drink from his coffee.

-O-O-O-

"So I'm going to work. You had better behave." Sasuke pulled on his suit jacket, Naruto watching him curiously. "I'll be back at…er…" he fished a pen and notepad out of his pocket, and scribbled down 19.00, ripping it off the pad and placing it in front of the numerical clock in the living room. "When it looks like that," he finished lamely.

"Right, and if you get hungry,"

"Ramen?"

"No, no ramen. That takes a bit of skill to make." _'Yeah, right. Stop kidding yourself.'_ "There are some onigiri and stuff in the fridge, just let it sit out a while."

"Fridge."

"Yeah. Plus, there are all sorts of chips and stuff—" he opened a lower cabinet, letting Naruto see, "in here."

"Chips."

He straightened up, grabbing his briefcase from the couch and walking toward the entranceway. "That should be it. You can watch TV if you want, I don't really care. Just don't burn the house down while I'm gone, yeah?"

Naruto nodded.

"Good." He began putting his shoes on, but paused. "Naruto…thank you. I didn't want to have to leave you alone today, and I'm sorry. But I think you'll be alright." He finished tying his shoes, and opened the door. "I'm off. Bye, kid."

-O-O-O-

Sasuke grumbled at his desk. Requesting him to stay late and finish up the finance proposal for the month was a spectacular example of what he _didn't_ want to happen.

But he didn't have a choice, the team was "counting on him," like they so often do.

And as one of the chief financial officers of the energy corporation, and a known prodigy at that, a lot was expected of him on a daily basis.

So this was nothing new.

Neither was the constant subtle hints from his boss' secretary that made him curl his upper lip and feel quite queasy. He was pretty sure all the women in the corp were after him, married or no, and it was a tiresome business.

_'The whole damn thing is a tiresome business.' _He thought, tapping his pen on his chin and reviewing pie charts of their uses in top sectors compared to other companies.

_'...Hell, my _life_ is a tiresome business.'_

"We're counting on you, Sasuke..." It echoed in his head, and Sasuke's gaze shifted to the lights outside the huge glass window of the office.

He had a respectable office, and held respectable office, but he never felt fully there. There were many times where he felt as if he was the only one that stopped and looked at what was going on, instead of scurrying around like a busy worker ant.

Attention snapped back into place, he hastily finished off the powerpoint. It was going to be a bit thrown-together, but that's what they get for not getting those reports in earlier. He would get enough hand-kissing for this anyway.

He glanced at the wall clock and cursed, sweeping up his briefcase and jacket, fumbling to lock his office door.

"S-See you tomorrow, U-Uchiha-sama..." came a few scattered voices from the rest of the floor. He gave no sign of notice as he rushed to the elevator, pulling on his jacket.

He took more relish than he should when he briskly walked out of the elevator, away from a stuttering, protesting, brunette woman who he thought maybe worked on the third floor.

'_Shit,' _Sasuke thought, multiple times, as he hurried down the busy street. _'I told Naruto I'd be home an hour and a half ago…' _

-O-O-O-

He burst in the door breathlessly, slipping his shoes off, and calling "Tadaima," out of habit.

"Okairi." Naruto was lying on the couch in front of the playing TV, onigiri in hand.

"Sorry I'm late, I…wait, what?" Sasuke looked at Naruto. "Did you…?"

Naruto smiled widely and jumped off the couch into Sasuke's arms, who was now even more dumbfounded. "Sasuke home!" He nuzzled his head into Sasuke's chest.

"Yeah, I am, but what…how did you…?" Naruto pulled away a bit, looking up at Sasuke with curious eyes. Sasuke squatted down. "Where did you learn to say that??" he asked with a slight smile.

Naruto simply pointed to the television. _'Of course.'_ He ruffled Naruto's hair, who smiled at the now-familiar action. "Uh…good job."

"How was work?" Sasuke paused for a second in walking over to put his jacket in the closet, then continued on, "Boring. Work isn't that fun." It was so strange to hear a phrase like that coming from Naruto. He was so used to Naruto conveying his emotions so openly, without words, but, _'I guess I'll have to get used to it.'_

"Naruto," he sinked into the couch beside him, "did a girl say that on TV?"

"Say what?" It really was strange, although his eyes conveyed his emotions clearly enough already.

"Okairi. Was it a girl that said it?" Sasuke's slumped posture contrasted to Naruto sitting upright on the edge of the sofa.

Naruto nodded slowly, confused. "Bad?"

"No, but usually girls do those kind of things when someone comes home."

"Why?" Naruto was full of questions that Sasuke didn't feel like answering.

"Well…" Naruto's eyes were bright, fixed on Sasuke. He sighed in defeat, forehead in hand. "Nevermind. You can say those things if you really want to."

Naruto grinned and pounced on Sasuke.

"Yeah, yeah, get off me. I'm starving." He stood up and dusted himself off, looking down at a disheveled Naruto.

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, dinner."

"Ramen?"

Sasuke raised one eyebrow. "If you want, sure."

"Ramen!!!"

"Right, out of the way. I gotta make it for you. Actually—" He sized up Naruto. "Come with me. You may as well learn how to make it."

-O-O-O-

Sasuke used what little time he had away from work to re-teach Naruto how to speak. Between this and learning from the television, Naruto progressed very quickly, and Sasuke began to notice several of the boy's mannerisms through this increase in communication.

He taught the ever-eager boy how to do chores, which Naruto, somehow, enjoyed immensely. The apartment was the cleanest it had been since Sasuke had bought it. There were always clean clothes to wear in the morning and clean dishes for Sasuke to eat from, Naruto having a diet of mainly ramen and the occasional dessert, Sasuke had learned. Naruto was extraordinary. He took such fascination in the everyday, wanting to know how everything worked.

Naruto's curiosity could get him into trouble at times, though.

"Sasuke?" he had called out softly.

"Hmm?" Sasuke had replied absentmindedly from his newspaper.

"How does noise come out of this?"

"Come out of wha—Naruto!!" he whirled, seeing the old-fashioned radio in the boy's hands, who recoiled at the outburst.

"Where did you find that?!?"

"I—Ah—" Naruto stuttered, frightened, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

Sasuke sighed, collecting himself. He walked over and took the radio from Naruto, who looked as if he was about to cry.

Voice taking a different tone, he walked into the kitchen, telling Naruto to follow him.

Naruto watched, tears subsiding as Sasuke plugged the radio into an empty outlet. He was pushing buttons and making things pop out. "Queen," he mumbled to himself. Naruto watched him glance around, and then push some more buttons.

_Tonight…_

_I'm gonna have myself _

_A real good time_

_I feel ali-i-i-ive…_

A smile slowly spread across Naruto's face, closing his eyes and enjoying the strange sound floating through the air and making his skin tingle.

Sasuke smiled at the sight, feeling the music relax him as well, letting it wash over him. He hadn't felt this at peace in the last couple of hectic weeks. He mouthed the words to Naruto playfully, stepping in closer,

_Don't stop me now…_

Naruto grinned shyly, but wide, blue eyes sparkling.

_Don't stop me--Cause I'm _

_Havin' a good time,_

_Havin' a good time!!_

"I'm a shootin' star, leapin' through the skyyyy, like a tiger, defying the laws of gra-vi-tyyy," Naruto jumped into the air, punching his fist, then continuing to dry the plate and dance around the kitchen. "I'm a racin' car, passin' byyy, like Lady Godiva! I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stoppin' meee!!"

Sasuke glanced back from the living room with an amused smile. Naruto had taken an immense liking to the music, listening to it whenever he could, dancing and dancing and dancing. It was all Sasuke could do to keep the neighbors from hearing, but sometimes he couldn't help but join in.

He rolled his eyes at Naruto, who was pointing at him playfully, "I wanna make a supersonic man outta youuu!!!"

He couldn't help but to get up and go along, swaying to the beat.

_Don't stop me now!_

"I'm havin' such a good time," they mouthed to each other, the music rocking their bodies, "I'm havin' a ball!"

_Don't stop me now!_

And so the days went.

The decision to take Naruto shopping for clothes that fit was a difficult one, what with Naruto marveling at the hugest buildings and the littlest insects, thus earning curious looks at the hyper blond teenager and the handsome, humiliated man he was buzzing around.

Sasuke was even more mortified at the discovered taste in clothing the boy had.

'_Orange? Of all colors, orange??'_ He thought disgustedly as Naruto skipped ahead, swinging the shopping bags enthusiastically, donning a new pair of jeans and a green athletic jacket; "You are _not _wearing that outside," Sasuke had narrowed his eyes, arms crossed, as Naruto had showed off a bright orange shirt that read "FOXY" across the chest. He got a pout in response, holding the jacket out to Naruto.

"…It's cold," he had insisted, looking away with a flustered, very un-Uchihalike blush on his face. Naruto had smiled, taking the jacket, and skipped off, leaving Sasuke feeling like an idiot.

He was annoying as hell, too.

He would frequently impersonate Sasuke's foul moods, then play dumb when he turned around. Sasuke had to remind himself that Naruto was still a child, or at least in a childish mindset, and thus didn't know better. But Sasuke still had to restrain himself from just wailing off and punching the blond sometimes. _'I was never this annoying.'_

But his innocence never ceased to amaze Sasuke. At one point, when he was putting Naruto to bed, he had asked, "Where does Sasuke sleep?"

Sasuke was slightly taken aback at the odd question, but answered matter-of-factly, "I sleep on the futon over there."

"On the floor?" Naruto looked past his pointed finger to the pile of rumpled blankets and pillows.

"Well, yeah. It's not that odd."

"Why doesn't Sasuke sleep on the bed?" Naruto questioned.

"Because," Sasuke replied shortly, "you sleep on the bed."

"Naruto doesn't mind."

"But…" Sasuke protested weakly. It was getting harder and harder to say no to those wide blue eyes.

"Please? It's cold."

Sasuke opened and closed his mouth.

"…Fine."

Naruto squeaked for joy and hugged him tight.

"Yeah, yeah, get off me. I need to get a pillow."

Needless to say, Sasuke slept the warmest and most comfortably he had in the past few weeks, Naruto curled up against his chest.

The kid never ceased to amaze him.

Sasuke's previously dull and melancholy days were colorful and unpredictable, filled with music and infectious smiles and rolling of eyes, and orange laundry that made his chest twinge, and ridiculous amounts of ramen, and embarrassing bentos, and never being cold at night. There was always something new to explain, and Sasuke was forced to look at things from angles he had never thought of before.

_Don't stop me now!_

There was always a warm hug and a warmer welcome to look forward to when he came home, and a memory he would never forget in watching Naruto sleep in in the mornings as he got ready for work. There were those times when he would end up sitting outside the bathroom with a bruise forming on his chin because he had walked in at the wrong time, and the payback of sniggering when Naruto slipped and fell on his rump on the way out.

_Don't stop me now!_

There were longing looks at the pet store windows when they went out on weekends, and the humiliation of hearing dozens of female screams when Naruto walked into the wrong bathroom, quickly scampering out, and running into an unamused Sasuke, tapping his foot. There was scrambling for bandages when Naruto cut himself with a kitchen knife watching the cooking channel, and panic attacks when a scream came from the bathroom, only to turn into a deep sigh as Sasuke flushed the ladybug down the toilet.

Never had he experienced such a rollercoaster of emotion and sensation, never had his life been so colorful and wonderfully chaotic.

Naruto curled up in his usual spot that night, singing softly, Sasuke stroked the soft hair, finding himself contemplating this whirlwind that he was willingly being lost in. This warm body next to him, this orphan cast to the streets, had changed him in ways he couldn't quite put into words.

"Lalalalalaaaa…" Naruto sung faintly into Sasuke's warm chest, trailing off into soft breathing, the tune making Sasuke smile. He pulled the blond close, inhaling his scent on his hair.

It was hard to explain, this feeling.

* * *

Uwaaaah!!!! Someone's feeling all gushy inside!! XD ::pokes at Sasuke's tummy:: This will have a plot, btws. Eventually. XD

That song is one of the lesser-known Queen tunes, but it's one of my favorites. :3

I'm in such a light mood, because a lot of my pre-holiday stress is lifted from the last week. Hooray for winter holidays! :D ::dances::

Please review!!


	5. Theme

Minna-san!

Phew, one more chapter until my stress gets kinked out. Happy early holidays!! :3

The fluffiness is short-lived after this, believe me. Plot is gonna come down hard and fast on you bitches!! :O

Jk. But that means I can get to a lemon a bit faster...::shifty eyes::

Ah, lemons. Yes, there will be some. XD

(Disclaimer)

-

**.Theme. **_(Flathead)_

* * *

"_Sasuke…mnnn…"_

Onyx eyes flew open, and fluttered closed in a groan, an arm coming up to drop over them. This was the latest in the set of rather abstract, yet still steamy, dreams that the man had been visited by. And there was the undeniable fact that they seemed to be revolving around a certain teen with blond hair, who was currently sprawled acrost the bed and Sasuke alike, snoring peacefully.

Suddenly very annoyed, he shoved the whiskered boy off of him, and wearily made his way to the bathroom, yawning. Naruto, relatively undisturbed, rolled off the bed and onto the floor, waking with a snort.

Splashing cold water over his face, Sasuke reflected over the fact that echoed in his head that dreams were a reflection of experiences and subconscious desires. He made a face.

'_I mean sure, the kid is cute and all, but…' _He sighed, going to rub his face off with a towel.

"Sasukeeeee!!" He looked up from his towel. That voice… _'No.'_

"I admire your choice," the voice came from the living room, "Do you have to pay extra to get him to act this innocent and adorable?" Sasuke had slammed off the water, and bolted into the living room.

"Is he a good lay?" Kakashi questioned, eye curved in an assumed wide smile, past a puzzled looking Naruto with ramen in his hand.

"Lay…?" Naruto tilted his head.

A vein in Sasuke's forehead popped.

-O-O-O-

"You know I was just kidding, Sasuke," Kakashi said apologetically, adjusting the ice pack on his chin that Naruto had given him. "You already told me you took in a brat."

Sasuke simply sat at the kitchen table with his arms crossed. "Sorry," he said icily, "Not all of us are perverts, you know."

"Not all of us have sticks in our asses, either, but you don't hear me complaining about that." Kakashi gave what could only be interpreted as a clever smirk that made Sasuke want to jump across the table and give him a nice bruise on the other side of his face to match.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked Kakashi worriedly.

"You are just too cute," Kakashi's smirk faded into bright smile for the blond, which made Sasuke simmer. "Yes, I'm fine. You should check on Sasuke, though, I think he might need a tree trunk pulled from his—Ow!!" Sasuke smirked contently as Kakashi rubbed his shin.

"You're not going to get anywhere by just beating up on me all the time, Sasuke," Kakashi half-whined. Sasuke snorted and turned his nose as a response.

"Sasuke, I'm going to go get dressed."

"Alright."

"That boy…he looks exactly like Minato," Kakashi said, with a twinge of sadness in his voice, staring at the doorframe after the boy had left. "It's so strange."

"Minato…wasn't that the man who—"

"—Started the Orchestra. Yes. That Minato. But, he never had any children. Heh," Kakashi chuckled shortly. "Kushina wasn't the motherly type, anyway."

Sasuke stared at the floor, asking through the uncomfortable daze, "Speaking of, we have Rehearsals starting again soon, right?"

"Yup," Kakashi smiled, out of his wistful tone. "Holidays are coming up soon. What're you going to do about little Blondie here?"

Sasuke gave him a look. "I go to work five days a week, Kakashi. _Naruto_ can take care of himself."

"Awwww…" Kakashi tsked, shaking his head. "I don't know what that he sees in a preoccupied, work-ruled grump like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Kakashi shrugged innocently, and Sasuke swore he was smiling.

"You—"

"Sasuke hasn't eaten yet. Does Sasuke want anything for breakfast?" Naruto announced his presence.

Kakashi made a strangled snorting noise, and Sasuke glared at him. "Eggs," he replied, not taking his eyes away from the man, "would be nice."

"Well, I must be going," Kakashi wiped at the corner of his eye, "Business to attend to, old ladies to help across the street, all that jazz."

"Leaving so soon?" Sasuke questioned, narrowing his eyes. Naruto nodded, looking slightly distressed.

"Well, I _was_ looking forward to a visit to my favorite godson and his…_friend,_" Sasuke growled, and Kakashi sighed, "but it seems all he wants to do is say hurtful things," here he sniffed in dejection, "and beat up on me. Oh, woe."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Naruto gave a sympathetic look, rushing over to give the man a hug. Seeing a smirk over Naruto's shoulder, Sasuke growled again.

"It was nice to meet you," Naruto pulled away.

"You as well, Naruto. You seem like a kind, intelligent young man," he ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately, and made his way to the entryway. Sasuke snorted. _'Intelligent my ass.'_

"Moreso than Sasuke, the oblivious little twit—" the door slammed just in time for a fork to lodge in it a half second later.

-O-O-O-

"Sasuke, who was that?" Naruto had asked him, hanging upside down from the sofa.

"My godfather, Kakashi," Sasuke grumbled, not wanting to recall the day's earlier events, eyes not breaking contact with the weather.

"What's a godfather?"

"It means…Basically, he was a friend of my family."

"…Oh, Sasuke's…family."

"…Yeah."

Naruto pulled back up, sitting still through a deep silence on both ends.

"…"

"Naruto's head hurts."

-O-O-O-

Stress was once again invading Sasuke's life. With the holidays approaching fast, and Naruto growing less inconspicuous by the day, Sasuke was not getting any relief from any end.

Plus, there was an uneasy feeling that kept bugging him at work. He became aware of a new sensation, like he was being observed from a distance.

The approach of the holidays was causing a natural restless, busy, and stressed atmosphere, and stressful atmosphere affected Sasuke in the worst way. But Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

'_I only hope I haven't been taking this out on Naruto in any way…' _

He looked around, noticing the snow starting to fall. A quiet murmur started amongst the other pedestrians that were out, catching a flake or two and continuing on their way.

Sasuke paused, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. The smell was crisp and steely and clean, and his anxiety lightened, expelled through his breath into the snow-dotted, wintry air.

He checked his watch. _'11.36. God damn it, I keep running later and later.'  
_

He stuffed his freezing hands into his pockets and hastened his pace homeward.

'_Naruto will probably already be asleep by now…'_

-O-O-O-

Sasuke fiddled with the doorknob, already ready for a full night's sleep. He narrowed his eyes the slightest bit as he found the right key, pressing his ear to the door for a bit before slowly opening the door.

He pushed it closed slowly and quietly, working his shoes off, carefully. He could barely see past his hands, and paused in the middle of hanging up his jacket and scarf.

But there was definitely something playing. The melody sounded familiar, but it was too faint and far off to tell. Quietly as he could, he inched his way past the entryway closet and down the hall.

There was light coming from the slightly opened kitchen door. _'Why is he up at a time like this?'_

As he approached the door, the melody grew slightly louder. _'…Did…Did he stay up just to see me home?'_

Sasuke moved his head just so he could see in the little space the door made.

He took a sharp intake of breath.

_My heart wants to beat like the wings of the bird that flies  
__From the lake to the trees,_

Legs swinging gently from the chair, Naruto turned his head on his folded arms that were rested on the table, looking at the floor through a slight daze. The singing of the Family Von Trapp came slightly crackled and muffled from the speakers of the old radio on the counter.

_My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies  
__From a church on a breeze,_

Sasuke didn't even know he had the Sound Of Music soundtrack, much less that Naruto knew where he kept his albums. _'How long have you been waiting for me?'_

Naruto had rested his head on his arms, legs dangling still. Sasuke gently pushed the door open wider, and took a few quiet steps inside.

The boy's frame moved steadily, breathing deeply. Sasuke gazed at the form with sad, smiling eyes. _'You've got to be tired, kid.'_

He approached the boy slowly, so as not to wake him up. He could see a closed eye between the tangle of blond hair and the sleeve of his sweatshirt, and Naruto buried his face deeper into his arm.

_To sing through the night  
__Like a lark who is learning to pray_

Sasuke gathered the boy in his arms, gently as he could. Naruto began to stir, but Sasuke shushed him and kissed him tenderly on the forehead.

He stopped to cut off the antique radio, and slowly exited the kitchen, turning off the light.

In the pitch-black hallway, he walked slowly to the bedroom and inhaled the scent on Naruto's hair, close to his shoulder, smiling.

Sasuke gently laid the boy down on the bed, kissing him slowly on both cheeks, enjoying the smoothness beneath his lips.

_My heart will be blessed with the Sound Of Music_

He gently pulled the covers from under the boy, and laid them overtop, smiling and raising an eyebrow when the blond snuggled in.

Stalling, lips parting and closing again in indiciciveness, he leaned down a bit, stopped, and leaned further in.

_And I'll sing once more…_

-O-O-O-

It was a strange looking-thing. One end was skinny and the other end was big and bumpy on both sides. It was made out of a tough black cloth and had all sorts of straps on different sides, and Naruto had no idea what it was.

He had found it in the dark recesses of Sasuke's closet, cleaning while Sasuke was at work, and dragged it out into the middle of the floor to investigate. It wasn't that heavy.

Studying it all over, he discovered some of those zipper things, two on either side of the object. Slowly, carefully, he unzipped the black thing, and peeled back the top of it.

"Ooooh…" Naruto's eyes widened.

Inside was a shiny wooden thing. The thin part was a black stick-looking thing coming out of the top, with strings going down, and a scrolly-thing with knobs at the top. The bumpy bottom part had little cuts in it, and a nub at the very bottom of the thing. Gently lifting it up out of the bag-thing, Naruto found it was pretty light for its rather large size.

It was very pretty, and Naruto wondered what Sasuke did with a thing like this.

He noticed a long, thin, pocket on the black bag, and opened the flap. He pulled out a weird stick-looking thing, and turned it over in his hands, tilting his head confusedly.

His head suddenly perked up. "Tadaima…" came a call from the front door. Panicking, Naruto tried to, as quickly and gently as he could, stuff the wooden thing in the bag.

"Naruto…?" Naruto struggled with the skinny black part; the scrolly thing was catching on the bag's edge. Sasuke's voice was closer now.

"O-Okairi…" he called softly, panicking, and still trying to get the scrolly thing in, and…

Sasuke was in the doorway, Naruto balked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Shit…" Sasuke conked his forehead on the doorframe. "Naruto…" his voice was unreadable.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke, I…" Naruto squinted, words tumbling clumsily from his mouth.

"…It's okay…" Sasuke sighed. It was a slightly automated response, not wanting to get angry at the curious teen, but kind of already there.

"I-It was…I…I'm sorry…"

Sasuke took a deep sigh, forehead and arm still pressed against the doorframe.

Naruto glanced up. "…So what is it?"

Sasuke chuckled softly to the doorframe.

"I think it's time I took you to a Rehearsal."

* * *

Oraaaah!!! CAVITIES FOR EVERYONE!! :3

Sorry I couldn't end on the sappy-ass part, but I need a bit of a lead-in to the next chapter, y'know? XD

I'll make my stress short-lived and get all the Christmas-y stuff covered in the next one. After that, I can't afford to make updates every three days or so. Takes its toll, yo! D:

But, yeah. SO glad break is here. Homg.

Please review!


End file.
